


Day 6

by galvelociraptor



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-22
Updated: 2018-10-22
Packaged: 2019-08-05 18:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16372385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galvelociraptor/pseuds/galvelociraptor
Summary: Tony can hear the bottle calling to him softly from the cabinet where he locked it away before dinner.For once, it’s not his chemical dependence talking—the bottle is really calling to him.





	Day 6

Tony can hear the bottle calling to him softly from the cabinet where he locked it away before dinner.

For once, it’s not his chemical dependence talking—the bottle is really calling to him.

When Thor mentioned that putting a beverage in the bottle would make it everlasting, Tony thought it meant that he would never have to buy more expensive scotch again.

Instead, the bottle has been singing at him for a little over twenty-three hours now. It’s some Asgardian-version of The Song That Never Ends, Tony’s sure of it.

“Sir?”

“JARVIS? What’s up, buddy?”

“Sir, we’re getting some interference from the array on the roof. It reads like some type of transdimensional energy.”

“Well have you compared it to our database of weird energy readings?”

“Of course, Sir, and I was about to inform you that it most closely matches the readings SHIELD collected in New Mexico.”

“And in New York?”

“Actually, Sir, they are quite dissimilar.”

“Huh.”

“Sir—I’m—“

“JARVIS? You there?”

Static filled the room. Which was weird, because Tony had specifically programmed all of his devices to never have static. It made him edgy.

Suddenly, the lights went out.

A cold blue light filled the room, and resolved itself into—

“LOKI? WHAT THE FUCK?” Tony screeched.

“Ah, Man of Iron, just who I was looking for.”

“Did you disable JARVIS?” Tony shouted at him.

“Your sentient computer? Yes, he was about to alert SHIELD to my presence, and I needed a bit more time.”

“Are you here to kill me?” Tony asked, still very flustered, but happy to see that Loki didn’t have any visible weapons.

“Now why I would want to do that?”

“Because you tried to kill me the last time you saw me.”

“Did I?” Loki retorted, with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, you tried to make me your mind slave anyway.”

“True,” Loki conceded with a nod.

“…why do you need a bit more time?”

“Hmm?” Loki seemed distracted, as if half his attention was elsewhere.

“You said you didn’t want JARVIS to alert SHIELD to your presence, and that you needed ‘a bit more time’.”

“You have an impressive memory, Man of Iron.”

“Stress does that to a person,” Tony snarked at him. "Also, it was like a minute ago."

“I am here to request your assistance.”

Tony stared at him, then started to laugh. “Ok, pull the other one, it has bells on.”

“I am not joking.”

Loki’s face continued to be serious.

“Uh…ok. What do you need my help with? And how the hell did you find me anyway?”

“I gifted my idiot brother with the bottle. I simply followed its signature to your home.”

“The singing bottle was your idea?”

“Did you really think Thor capable of such an enchantment?”

“Honestly? I thought it was more a gag gift.”

“Oh, it was.”

“Just with highly advanced magic,” Tony said slowly.

“Just so.”

“So now that you’ve dodged the question twice, let me ask a third time. And you should know that, despite being non-super, I am absolutely not powerless.”

“It is…something of a delicate situation.”

“You’re gonna have to do better than that,” Tony said, training the repulsor he had quietly activated on Loki’s chest. “I’m not sure what this would do to you, but I bet it’d at least sting.”

Loki stared at Tony’s hand, then seemed to deliberately let his form shimmer a bit.

“Well, fuck me.” Tony said, dryly, and lowered his hand. 

Loki looked like death warmed over: circles under his eyes, hair unkempt, and even thinner than before.

“My so-called father has decided that the best way to curtail my, ah, extracurricular activities is to put an inhibitor on me.” Loki held up his arm to display a wide bracelet, wrought of some alien-looking metal, and decorated with runes so twined around themselves that it was impossible to make out where one began and another ended.

“Yeah? So?”

“I have heard tales of your genius from my brother,” Loki said.

“Huh. Why can’t you do it?”

“I am forbidden from doing any magic.”

“You’re clearly doing magic right now, and I’m done with this discussion.” Tony turned to leave, wondering how best to get JARVIS back online.

“Wait!” A thread of panic had entered Loki’s voice.

Tony turned back to him, curious despite himself.

“I have a, a" --Loki was clearly struggling for words, and Tony was even more intrigued-- "a device. It stores magic, much like your electrical energy. It doesn’t require magic to use, because it has already been charged with magic. I am telling the truth,” Loki said, earnestly.

“Huh.” Tony stopped to think for a moment. “How are you planning to get here if you can’t do magic? I can tell that it's you but only holo-you, you know.”

“I believe my tongue is silver enough to convince my father to let me visit Earth, where his beloved Thor was so reformed.”

“And what do I get out of the deal?”

“Anything that is within my power to grant,” Loki said, almost before Tony had finished asking.

“Whoa, you’re desperate to get them off, aren’t you?” Tony said, somewhat impressed.

“It is like…it is like being unable to draw a complete breath. Or having an itch one cannot scratch. Or being parched but unable to drink.”

“That all sounds…awful, actually.” Tony could feel his resolve breaking.

“This isn’t my end of the bargain,” Tony began, “but you have to promise that, while we are working together, you will not injure a human (or other ally), or, through inaction, allow a human (or other ally) to come to harm. And you’ll need to stay hidden, because I’m not sure the press wouldn’t take your head off. I know at least two of my teammembers would like the opportunity.”

“Are you not going to ask me to promise to obey orders as well? Or to protect my own existence?”

Tony stared at him, then started to laugh.

“Thor did mention you were the scholar of the two. Alright, point to you for knowing the reference.”

Loki inclined his head.

“As to the other Laws, well, I have no need to make you obedient. Either you stay and we cooperate, and you get your shackles off, or you don’t. Your call. And if you decide you want to off yourself, well, that’s also your call. But don’t give up hope too quickly. It took me a long time to get to JARVIS.”

“Your terms are agreeable.”

“Yeah, yeah, when can I expect the real you?”

“Look for me within one Earth week.”

“Before you go, can I take a couple pics of the cuffs so I can start looking into some stuff?”

“You may, though I’m not sure what good it will do,” Loki said.

“Ok, smile for the camera…”

Loki rolled his eyes while Tony flitted around him like a demented fairy.

“Done! See you later, goat man.”

“I look forward to it, shellhead.”

A surprised giggle came out of Tony’s mouth, and Loki disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> One of the days of fic from my NaNotWriMo 2016. (I called it NaNOTWriMo because I had no intention of writing 50K, and indeed I didn't.)
> 
> The Laws referenced are Asimov's Robotics Laws; I put them in because a) they seemed appropriate, b) Tony would know them initimately well, and I wanted to reinforce that c) Loki has read a lot of stuff. Like A LOT (including Midgardian literature). 
> 
> If I _were_ to write more it would be like this: Tony figures out how to take the cuffs off really quickly (like within a day). Suspiciously quickly: they were _designed_ to be quickly removed. Then, the person they had cuffed becomes linked to the person who removed the cuffs, like the good old 'stuck together' trope (because I love that trope, wherein they can't be further than a few feet apart without Loki feeling intense pain but Tony's mouth just gets a little itchy.) 
> 
> Tony absolutely has a heart though and he works with Loki to keep him not in pain and eventually they figure out something to break the curse but they've fallen in love along the way, of course.


End file.
